cottagegrovespeedway Archives

Spring Fling checkers fly for James

By Stephanie Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (April 23) – Cottage Grove Speedway was in action for the Spring Fling doubleheader weekend and while wet weather washed away the Saturday program, Bricen James topped the IMCA Modified main event on Friday . Paul Rea set the pace in the first few laps. The Eugene veteran was at the point of the pack until lap three when Jeffrey Hudson got around him. Hudson, from the central Oregon town of Keno and racing for car owner Don Roemer, stayed there for the majority of the race. Hudson was overtaken late, on lap 18, by Albany’s Bricen James. James had to deal with a couple of stoppages which meant he had to deal with a handful of restarts. Bricen mastered each of them and the seventh starting driver went on to win his first race of the 2021 campaign. Corbett chauffeur Collen Winebarger got second while third place was credited to Curtis Towns, of Cottage Grove. Albany’s Matthew Drager and Otis teenager Eston Whisler were fourth and fifth in [Read More]

Drager, Bloom are IMCA winners at Cottage Grove

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (April 17) – Cottage Grove Speedway got back to its racing ways on Saturday, April 17 with feature wins going to Matthew Drager in the IMCA Modifieds and Aaron Bloom in the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods. The Modified main event was an absolute thriller. Chad Groves got his mount to the early race lead before Drager managed to hunt him down and overtake him at the line on the third complete circuit. On lap four, Groves went back in front but Drager reclaimed the position on the following lap. However, a caution would be waved before the fifth trip could be officially completed, giving the first place position back to Groves. On the upcoming restart, Drager was able to make it around Groves for the fifth lead change in as many laps. Drager had his hands full with both Groves and Jake Mayden turning up the heat. A couple yellow flags waved around the halfway mark, which kept the field tightly knit together. After a lap 14 restart, Groves stormed past Drager which [Read More]

Towns tops Cottage Grove barnburner

By Stephanie Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (April 10) – Curtis Towns was the winner of a green to checkered IMCA Modified main event Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway. Matthew Drager set the pace from the get-go but was soon in an exciting battle with Paul Rea. Rea, the long-time racer from Eugene, got around Drager on lap two only for Matthew to reclaim the top spot, on lap seven. Drager held first place for some time until Paul once again got around him on lap 11. Rea paced the field at a rapid pace using the high side of the race track. Slowly but methodically a couple cars gave chase including Towns. On lap 23, Towns worked the bottom of the race track, seizing the top place position and going on to win his first race of the year. Rea ended the night in second with third going to Bricen James. The Karl Kustoms Northern Sport Mods were in the house for the first time in the new campaign. Dustin Comer showed a lot of [Read More]

Campos, Bloom, Kennerly capture Cottage Grove features

By Stephanie Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (Aug. 29) – Cottage Grove Speedway raced for the sixth occasion on Saturday, with more than 90 entries from Oregon, Washington, and California making the trip. The IMCA Modified feature was a thriller with numerous lead changes and close action all the way to the end. Paul Rea got to the front first but was quickly passed by Curtis Towns, who then saw Aaron Sheelar drive by. Sheelar and Towns stayed side-by-side for several laps and traded the lead on three occasions. Towns regained first place on lap eight and remained there for some time. Curtis felt some heat in the last 10 laps as John Campos put an enormous amount of pressure on him. Campos finally managed to beat Towns to the line on lap 21 only to lose the position to Towns the next time around. As the two came to the checkers, Campos edged out Towns by .035 of a second. It was Campos’ second straight main event win and his third overall of the 2020 season. Towns [Read More]

Mayden, Bloom, Ashley find the right groove at The Grove

By Stephanie Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (July 18) – For the second occasion in 2020, the engines roared at Cottage Grove Speedway with a full pit area at the historical ¼-mile clay oval Saturday night. More than 30 IMCA Modifieds inhabited the house for their second race of the year and Jake Mayden had his way with the field in earning his first local checkers of 2020. John Campos wound up second with third going to Bricen James. The Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods would witness a giant-slaying as Hunter Bloom was large and in charge of the main event. The Eugene racer took control of the lead on lap one and remained there after the final circuit. It marked the first occasion that Bloom has graced victory lane in the division at The Grove. David Schmidt put in a second-place finish while behind him, in third, was Doug Coffman. The Mach-1 Sport Compacts went caution-free in their main event, and it started with Joe Maricle going to the front at the drop of the green flag. Maricle stayed in that [Read More]

Engines roar on The Fourth at Cottage Grove

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (July 4) – The roar of the engines returned to Cottage Grove Speedway for the Fourth of July and John Campos took care of business in the much-anticipated IMCA Modified main event. Campos seized the initial lead over the rest of the field, slowed only by three stoppages, and 0n each restart he managed to keep back all contenders to lead the distance for his first feature win of 2020. Defending Shaw Race Cars Western region champion Bricen James was the runner-up while Steven Sturdevant got third. Shawn Hand was quick in the early stages of the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod race. The Springfield chauffeur led the first two trips past the flag stand before being overtaken by Art Hiatt, who then blazed the trail the balance of the distance. Doug Coffman got second with David Schmidt behind him in third. In the debut for Mach-1 Sport Compacts, Chloe Van Sandt worked her way to the lead on the initial start and stayed there until lap three, when Barry Cannon [Read More]

IMCA Sport Compacts are new to Saturday shows at Oregon’s Cottage Grove Speedway

COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. – IMCA Mach-Sport Compacts have their first weekly home in the Pacific Northwest with the new sanction at Cottage Grove Speedway. The 4-cylinder class will run on 15 nights during the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season, beginning on opening night March 21 and running through Sept. 6. “We like everything about the Sport Compacts as an entry level class, especially the rules,” said promoter and new track owner Heather Boyce. “This is a class that is very affordable for young drivers or for fans who may not have family experience racing but want to get a car and have fun on a Saturday night.” The division replaces a local hornet class. “Sport Compacts work both ends of the spectrum for us,” Boyce noted. “They’ll be a great stepping stone for drivers who want to move up to IMCA Modifieds or Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods. It’s also a class that veteran drivers who want to race less often can get into.” The division headlines the July 11 program at Cottage Grove, [Read More]

James collects top check at Mark Howard Memorial

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (Aug. 24) – The top driver in Shaw Race Cars Western Region standings raced to the top payday of his IMCA Modified career Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway. Bricen James got the best of 40-plus Mark Howard Memorial Modified Nationals foes from across the Pacific Northwest in earning the $2,600, 2020 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying victory. Collen Winebarger ended in second after running down and challenging the leader for the vast majority of the event. James took advantage of the pole start and put his mount in front of the rest of the field to lead the first lap. He had some fast company behind him but numerous cautions over the first 26 circuits took lapped traffic out of the picture. The second half of the feature became an all-out battle for the top spot. James briefly lost the lead with a handful of laps remaining before reclaiming the position on the next corner. James held all challengers at bay to win his first career Mark [Read More]

Trenchard is 10th to top Cottage Grove Modified main

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (Aug. 3) – Nick Trenchard became the 10th different Mohawk Metal IMCA Modified winner of the season at Cottage Grove Speedway on Saturday night. Eston Whisler was ultra-quick at the start, pacing the first 10 circuits before being overtaken by Evan Britton. Britton was collected in a wreck in lapped traffic on the next trip around the track and that put Whilser back in front. He led until lap 16 when John Campos got around him. Campos had to battle for the lead after a restart with 17 circuits completed. Trenchard powered his way underneath Campos to take over the top spot. However, Campos was not going to go into the night quietly, dueling with Trenchard throughout the closing laps. Trenchard came out on top to win his first victory at CGS in 2019 and become the 10th different driver to best the competition at The Grove. Campos was second over third finishing Aaron Sheelar. Posting a fourth-place result was Whilser while Kevin Williamson ended his evening in fifth.

Hand completes Freedom Cup weekend sweep

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (July 6) – Braedon Hand completed a 3-for-3 weekend with his Saturday night Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod victory at Cottage Grove Speedway’s Hoppes Construction Freedom Cup. Californian Jason Ferguson got out to the early race lead and resided there until getting passed on lap four by Gavin Ropchan. Ropchan kept back many challenges but was eventually overtaken on the 13th circuit, shortly after a restart, by Travis Pruitt. Pruitt had the car to beat for much of the race. He constructed a sizable lead that was erased due to a lap 20 stoppage. Hand made the decisive pass on Pruitt on the 23rd trip past the flag stand. The hometown driver won the race to sweep the entire Freedom Cup weekend and win the point fund title. Pruitt was second over Matt Ruf, Ropchan and Matt Sanders. In the Mohawk Metal IMCA Modifieds, the party got started with Andy Freeman leading the first lap. Gus Cooper made it around Freeman on lap two to take control of the field. Cooper [Read More]